The market for peripheral pulse oximetry includes stand-alone bedside,
handheld and fingertip monitors, as well as reusable and disposable
sensors and OEM device boards. Elements from the venous and tissue
saturation markets are not explored in the scope of this report.

The market for pulse oximetry sensors represented the majority of the
total market. Growth in the total market will primarily be driven by
high volumes of disposable sensors and growth in the OEM circuit
devices. With the exception of the fingertip segment, the pulse oximetry
monitor market is mature and sales are largely made on a
replacement-basis. Sensor sales will increase primarily with the growing
incidence of disease and hospitals admission rates, driven in part by
the growing percentage of individuals over the age of 65.

There continues to be a strong push for more monitoring in both
hospitals (unmonitored wards and medical surgery) and alternate care
settings (long-term care facilities and skilled nursing facilities).
Both disposable and reusable segments will be able to take advantage of
the anticipated growth, although competition between vendors will be
significant. Additionally, although not discussed separately herein, the
retail market for non KFDA-approved pulse oximetry devices continues to
grow as the customers look to take proactive action to better manage
their health or chronic conditions.

While pulse oximetry equipment is already widely used in hospitals, the
market is still expected to grow substantially due to the introduction
of new technologies, and the expanding use of sophisticated
multi-parameter monitoring devices. As these multi-parameter monitoring
devices almost always include pulse oximetry as one of their
capabilities, they account for the bulk of pulse oximetry procedures
performed in hospitals.